Palm Springs waiter convicted of sexually assaulting hotel patron
A 34-year-old man who sneaked into an inebriated woman's room at the Palm Springs hotel where he worked and sexually assaulted the unconscious victim was convicted today of a half-dozen felony charges.
A Banning jury deliberated less than a day before finding Alejandro "Alex" Adan of Desert Hot Springs guilty of rape of an unconscious victim, rape of an intoxicated victim, assault with intent to commit rape, sexual penetration of an unconscious person, sexual penetration with a foreign object, burglary and theft.
The prosecution and defense delivered closing arguments Monday at the Banning Justice Center after four days of testimony. Riverside County Superior Court Judge James Jennings directed jurors to return to start deliberations Tuesday morning, and they returned with verdicts in the afternoon.
Adan is being held without bail at the Smith Correctional Facility.
According to a trial brief filed by the prosecution, on March 3, 2019, the victim, identified in court documents only as "Jane Doe," joined her mother and stepfather in visiting the Coachella Valley.
The mom and stepfather had their own room, while the victim had hers -- No. 435 at the Kimpton Rowan Palm Springs Hotel, located on West Tahquitz Canyon Way.
The mom and her daughter went to the hotel's High Bar early that afternoon and spent over three hours there, according to the brief.
Adan had been employed as a waiter at the bar for 18 months and was the women's server, according to the narrative.
He later told Palm Springs police investigators that he served the victim around four to five vodka sodas after she had consumed other beverages.
Either, while she was at the bar or walking between there and her room, Jane Doe dropped her wallet with her hotel key card, according to the brief.
Adan told detectives the woman was "flirting" with him, including giving him a kiss, but her mother described the victim as "wasted."
When the women returned to their respective rooms, they realized Jane Doe's wallet was missing, prompting a call to the hotel front desk, where a clerk informed them that the item had been found. According to court papers, Adan volunteered to return the wallet himself, and while walking to the room, he took the victim's key card out of her pocketbook and slipped it into his pocket.
The defendant briefly spoke with the mom, who informed him that she and her husband intended to go out to eat but couldn't take Jane Doe because the victim had passed out. Prosecutors said Adan left but returned several times to surveil the two adjoining rooms, waiting for the mom and stepfather to leave.
When they did, the defendant admitted using the purloined card to gain access to Jane Doe's room, where he disrobed her as she lay sleeping on her stomach, then penetrated her with his fingers, according to the brief. Moments later, Adan removed his pants and ``began having sex with her,'' court papers said.
The victim awoke in less than a minute and pushed away from the defendant, put on a bath robe and fled to her mother's adjacent room, just as the mom and stepfather returned to retrieve something before going to dinner, according to the prosecution.
Jane Doe said, ``Mom, this guy is having sex with me, and it's not OK,'' the brief said.
Her stepfather entered the victim's room and cornered Adan, while the mom called 911. The police response was slow, and Tom kept watch over the defendant, refusing to let him leave until officers arrived almost an hour later, according to the brief.
When he was questioned, Adan told investigators, "I don't know what came through my mind. I felt like I was doing something wrong. I shouldn't have been there,'' the narrative said.
"When asked if the victim enjoyed (his presence), he admitted she did not,'' according to the brief.
He was taken into custody without incident.
Adan had no documented prior felony convictions.
